Indiana State Trooper Ben Reason made a traffic stop at 10:07 p.m. Friday that led to the arrests of the five players in Fulton County, according to Indiana State Police, who said White, a 2015 Irish signee at defensive back, was identified as the driver of a Ford Focus allegedly going 13 miles per hour over the 60 miles per hour limit on US 31.
Advertisement
The five other players were arrested on Friday night after Indiana State Police said a trooper stopped a vehicle, reportedly driven by White, in Fulton County about 35 miles south of South Bend for speeding. That’s when the officer smelt marijuana from the auto and brought out a dog to conduct the search.
Cornerback Devin Butler was also arrested Saturday night on suspicion of battery in an unrelated incident, according to the Associated Press. When this happened, Devin Butler reportedly became very angry towards one of the women in the group. The University of Notre Dame student Newspaper, The Observer, is reporting that South Bend police arrested Butler at the Linebacker Lounge near Notre Dame’s campus.
Asked whether the school was considering any disciplinary action against the six student-athletes, Paul Browne, vice president for public affairs and communications at Notre Dame, outlined the university’s general policy.
“The university will determine if additional sanctions should apply to any or all of the students charged”, his statement said. That puts an interesting spin on the football future of Redfield, Stepherson and Williams, per Notre Dame policy.
Notre Dame had their final practice of fall camp on Friday.
All were jailed on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge.
The university confirmed all five of the people arrested in that incident are football players: cornerback Ashton White, starting safety Max Redfield, wide receiver Kevin Stepherson Jr., linebacker Te’von Coney and Dexter Williams, who’s one of three running backs expected to play regularly for the Irish this season. 19-year-old Te’Von Coney is a backup linebacker.
Notre Dame has released a statement regarding the arrests, saying the players could be dismissed. He didn’t play in the Fiesta Bowl because of a broken foot. Butler had surgery again in mid-June and was expected to be out out 14-16 weeks, marking the middle of October as the earliest for a potential return.
Advertisement
The Notre Dame team, ranked No. 9 in ESPN’s preseason college football poll, completed training camp on Friday in preparation for its September 4 opening game at the University of Texas. Notre Dame has not commented on the situation.
